KOTC: Brawl in the Mall 5 – Recap

King of the Cage held their 53rd Canadian event last night at the Edmonton Event Center in Edmonton, Alberta. All eight bouts ended via TKO or Submission including the main event which saw Elmer “The Warrior” Waterhen, who has been a staple of King of the Cage’s roster since their debut event in early 2005 take home the vacant middleweight strap.

Top MMA News Awards:

Fight of the Night: A standup battle in the rematch between Elmer Waterhen and Brad Stewart for the Middleweight Title.

Knockout of the Night: Elmer Waterhen for his crushing left hook TKO that sent Stewart crashing to the mat.

Submission of the Night: Although not a finish that would traditionally get submission of the night honors Neal Anderson used a beautiful rolling triangle position to pound his opponent into submission.

Round 1: Stewart opens with a leg kick and Waterhen responds with one of his own. Stewart begins to land some jabs before the two trade more leg kicks. Waterhen lands a combo followed by a kick to the body followed by a short period of inactivity. Stewart then lands a combo and a body kick and Waterhen tags him with a solid right. Stewart connects with another combo and the two battle with leg kicks. Stewart lands an errant shot to the groin but Waterhen indicates that he’s fine and they fight on. The two exchange kicks to the body and Waterhen follows up with a head kick followed by some stiff jabs through the guard. Waterhen punctuates the exchange with a body shot and Stewart lands a left. Waterhen finishes strong with a flurry of punches as the round come to a close. Top MMA News scores the round 10-9 for Waterhen

Round 2: A solid head kick by Stewart echos throughout the venue and he follows up with a combo but he slips on a missed head kick. Stewart pops right back to his feet and looks to land a kick to the body but Waterhen catches it. Waterhen lands a leg kick and Stewart responds with a few of his own. Stewart throws another leg kick which Waterhen again catches. Waterhen lands a big overhand left followed by a pair of jabs. The two again trade leg kicks followed by a hard right and Stewart comes back with a right of his own. Waterhen stuns Stewart briefly with a stiff shot followed by a huge head kick that opens a cut over the right eye. Waterhen follows up and lands a thunderous left hook that drops Stewart to the mat, before Waterhen is able to drop any more punches the referee steps in and waves off the fight.Elmer Waterhen defeats Brad Stewart via TKO (Punch) in Round 1, 4:43

TJ Klassen vs. Troy Sorensen
The two paw at each other with jabs as they feel each other out to open the fight. Sorensen lands a combo that causes Klassen to stumble back into the cage. Sorensen pounces on top and looks to sink a guillotine but Klassen is able to escape. Klassen stands up out of the guard and the two reset on their feet. The two tie up against the cage and Klassen lands a few knees which prompts a takedown from Sorensen who lands in the half guard. Sorensen begins to land solid rights before latching onto an arm and securing the fight ending kimura.Troy Sorensen defeats TJ Klassen via Submission (Kimura) in Round 1, 2:20

Behrang Yousefi vs. Nick Smith
Yousefi misses a high kick almost immediately but lands a nice combo. Both fighter are throwing quick combos. Smith connects with a flurry against the cage, Yousefi weathers the storm and falls short on another head kick. Smith secures a takedown but Yousefi scrambles and Smith looks for an armbar from the bottom. Yousefi easily escapes and gets into the full guard. Yousefi pounds away with lefts and rights and body shots before Smith throws up a triangle attempt. Yousefi stands up out of the submission attempt and drops back down with a heavy right before wailing away with more shots from the guard. Smith looks for another triangle, deeper this time but again escaped by Yousefi who gets back to his feet. Yousefi lands a front kick and a pair of hard rights followed by some vicious body shots that cause Smith to cover up. Yousefi begins landing knees and punches relentlessly until referee Andy Social is forced to step in to rescue Smith from any further punishment.Behrang Yousefi defeats Nick Smith via TKO (Knees & Punches) in Round 1, 4:50

Nick Campbell vs. Chris Lauzon
Lauzon lands a shot and Campbell connects with a solid kick to the body. Lauzon ties up but is unable to do any damage and they separate, another tie up and again no offence from Lauzon. Campbell breaks free and avoids a pair of wild lefts. Lauzon again clinches up, this time looking for knees however they do little damage. Campbell muscles him to the ground and lands in full mount before dropping several huge rights which prompt referee Kyle Cardinal to step in to rescue the downed fighter.Nick Campbell defeats Chris Lauzon via TKO (Punches) in Round 1, 2:32

Neal Anderson vs. Leo Constant
Chants of Neal ring out as Anderson enters the cage as the clear favorite with the crowd. Anderson doesn’t disappoint as he clips Constant with a high kick followed by a combo to open the bout. Constant ties up and takes Anderson to the ground landing in full guard. Anderson immediately locks up a triangle from the bottom and rolls to a mounted triangle before pounding on his trapped opponent who has no way out and is forced to verbally tap out to the strikes.Neal Anderson defeats Leo Constant via Verbal Submission (Strikes) in Round 1, 1:08

Travis Pigeon vs. James McGrath
McGrath rushes forward with a combo of punches followed by a knee that drops Pigeon. McGrath lands a pair of kicks to the legs of his downed opponent before dropping two huge rights that force referee Thomas Collins to step in an call a halt to the contest.James McGrath defeats Travis Pigeon via TKO (Punches) in Round 1, 0:17

Shaun Ramotar vs. George Matechuk
Matechuk throws a kick to the body but Ramotar catches it and lands a pair of big rights. Ramotar lands a leg kick and Matechuk responds with a high kick that falls short. The two exchange leg kicks before Ramotar catches another kick and lands another right. Ramotar gets a takedown but Matechuk scrambles and gets to half guard before moving to full guard. Matechuk postures up and lands a big shot before picking him up and slamming him to the mat. Matechuk again raises up and comes down with three solid rights before passing to side control where he lands several crushing elbows that force referee Andy Social to step in and stop the fight.George Matechuk defeats Shaun Ramotar via TKO (Elbows) in Round 1, 4:34

Trent Thorne vs. Greg Large
Thorne lands a jab and a leg kick before Large clinches up with him. They separate and Thorne misses a combo but he follows up with a trio of jabs, a leg kick and a combo. Thorne misses an overhand right and Large again ties up. Thorne lands a combo and Large swings wildly but misses and eats a hard left from Thorne. The two clinch but neither land anything and they seperate. Large lands a few shots and Thorne responds with a leg kick. Large lands another combo and Thorne looks for a takedown but Large pops right back up. Thorne locks up a guillotine and takes Large to the ground. Thorne transitions to side control but Large taps out due to exhaustion before Thorne is able to throw any shots.Trent Thorne defeats Greg Large via Submission (Exhaustion) in Round 1, 4:04

Ya it was a crappy way to win but I will say this, it’s no secret where I come from and Joe I started out in this game. With that being said, I would ask that you guys take it a lil easy on Greg. The guys had two fights and who knows where he might end up? He is a tough guy and with so e training he could do well. I don’t presume to know anything about Greg but I just hate to see a guy being hated on, a guy and a fight a few years ago that could have been me. Pretty much is me a few years ago! If it weren’t for Allen Hope punching and kneeing me into a pulp I may not have ever came back to this sport that has completely changed my life and in many other ways saved me! So maybe I can be Greg’s Al Hope? Anyway sorry for the long post. Just something I feltni had to say.

Classy post Trent… congrats on the fight either way, a win is a win! You’ve come a long way since the Hope fight and it’s nice to hear that you want the same for Greg, he definitely hasn’t had an easy draw in his first two fights with Higgins and then you with so much more cage time. Can’t wait to see you back in action Trent, Good luck in the next one!

My hat is off to you Mr. Thorne!! You use to drive me nuts a couple years ago when I would read your posts on the KOTC. You have come a long way as a fighter and it seems you have done the same as a man. You have gained my respect!
Your spelling still sucks! LOL
And for old time sakes can you please write a post with 20 “LOL’s” in it.